A/N: Wow. This one took a while. I wanted it to be nice and long, since I haven't updated in a bit. So...for this chapter, we've got some unusual occurrences. Hinata OOC, but it's explained by Sasuke, who also makes an attempt at explaining his OOCness, and we've also got Naruto fighting Hanabi, as well as everyone fighting everyone else, and everyone being OOC, but when you read it, you'll see how fun it is, really. In spite of the time it took, this chapter was actually fun to write. I hope you have as much fun reading it. Oh, and for my reviewers who said there was a little too much dialogue in the last chapter, I totally agree. That's why there are 2 (not one, but 2!) fight scenes in this chapter! I have to practice with writing them, since the chuunin exams are only what, two days away, now? And, our shadowy figure makes another appearance. What the devil is he up to?

Legal Stuffiness: I don't own Naruto.

Time: 4.5 years after Sasuke's departure

Place: Konoha, Uchiha Compound

Mission: Sparring, Gardening, Surviving seals, Celebration.

Chapter 9: Of Spars, Seals and Scars

Sasuke knelt in the courtyard garden of the main house. He felt like taking the day off from training. He told Moegi and Konohamaru to do the same, and Hinata insisted in the boy's case, since she needed to check his dressings and make sure that everything was healing as it should. As he dug his hands into the earth, he thought back to his first few missions as a genin. He'd been doing exactly what he was at the moment. Weeding. If he was to live here, he wanted this place to look just as his mother had kept it. As a boy, he had thought his mother's garden was paradise. He thought it was Heaven. Sasuke had found all of his mother's gardening tools, and brought out a few of them. He hadn't used any of them yet, preferring to feel the black dirt on his hands. It was cool, and comforting. His little patch of cleared ground steadily grew larger over the course of the day, and he felt rather satisfied with himself when he finished.

He had a large bucket that he kept emptying into the compost heap, but decided to burn the weeds later. Now, he looked to the black earth. What should he plant? There was already a chestnut tree in the yard, which he loved. The paths were all flagstones and small rocks, and he had salted the cracks so that the weeds wouldn't creep into them. As he stared around him, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning, he found Hinata.

"Sasuke-kun, it looks nice. You've been working hard." She handed him a towel, and when he had used it to wipe his face and hands, a cup of tea, as well.

"Arigato, Hinata-chan." He took the cup gratefully.

"Sakura-chan was here. I showed her into the garden, but she didn't want to disturb you." Hinata's smile was turning into a grin. "She said you looked like you could use the time to yourself." He nodded. Sounded like Sakura. Even if she teased you endlessly, she did seem to know when to stop, when to leave you alone. She knew when he needed to think, as well.

"Oh, and Sasuke-kun…Hanabi and Naruto-kun are fighting now." His eyes widened.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner? Lead on!" He thought it might be amusing to see Naruto fight another Hyuuga. Having only sparred with Hinata himself, he knew that she was the most passive of the three youngest of that family, but she was no slouch. Neji was a genius, and Hinata the next leader of the clan. Hanabi had nothing to lose, and everything to prove. Reminds me of Naruto, in a way. Perhaps the girl sensed a kindred spirit in his friend. Whatever the case, it would be an interesting fight.

As they neared the back yard, he felt the air crackling with the amount of chakra being used. His eyes widened when they came out onto the lawn. Hanabi's chakra flared, and she spun, but she was not using the Kaiten, as her cousin did. It was more like a cyclone, less predictable, and infinitely more unstable. Naruto eyed her closely, warily inching to the left, then to the right. He was concentrating his chakra into his feet, waiting to pounce.

In the half-light of early evening, Naruto's ANBU mask, now pulled up on top of his head, glowed dully. Sasuke could feel Hinata tense up next to him. He patted her shoulder. "Don't worry, Hinata-chan. He won't get hurt. Even if his body gets a little banged up, his head is too hard to let him get too hurt. He's just too stubborn to die." Hinata nodded slowly, and they watched.

Hanabi's attack swerved to the right, and moved toward the ANBU captain with lightening speed. At the very last moment, Naruto sprang into the air, his chakra having given him an extra boost. He performed a perfect swan-dive into the top of Hanabi's chakra formation. When he got inside, he took her utterly by surprise, stopping her spin. She stood there, frowning, eyeing him as he strolled easily back to a safe distance. She didn't look happy. That would be the equivalent of someone simply breaking through Neji's 'ultimate defense,' even though Hanabi's was not a defense, but an offensive technique.

"That was pretty impressive, kid." Naruto smiled kindly at the girl.

Hanabi was very unlike her stoic cousin and her almost-meek sister. She was a complete hothead. And at twelve-and-a-half years old ('the half counts, damn it!'), she loathed being treated like a child. "Are you going easy on me, Naruto-san?" His smile was calculatedly insolent, and she took the bait. She ran toward him, but found quickly that attacking him head-on was not an idea that she should pursue. Four other Narutos were suddenly standing there, and she could not, even with the Byakagun, tell the difference between them.

The girl growled in frustration. "Don't worry, kid," all five Narutos intoned, "We won't hurt you that bad." All five of them winked conspiratorially at her, and she lost it.

The girl said, "You're in my field. Get ready." Sasuke saw Naruto's face, and was sure he knew exactly what the girl meant. His eyes had narrowed, and his posture tensed (that is to say that all of the Narutos tensed). Hanabi's stance altered into one usually only used by Neji, and Sasuke saw Hinata's eyes narrowing. She was not pleased about this. The younger of the two was now moving toward the group of Narutos, applying Neji's 'sixty-four hands' technique to every last one of the Narutos all at once. She did not stop until all of the clones were gone. The only Naruto who had been able to dodge was obviously the real one, and she then went after him.

Naruto had apparently sparred more than once with Neji. He knew this technique well, and avoided it with ease. Sasuke could not say with confidence that he could do the same. The Hyuuga's movements, after a moment, began to change, becoming a form of oddly controlled chaos. Naruto's dodging adjusted to match it, and after having taken two hits to one arm and one leg respectively, he seemed ready to end it. He used a move that Moegi had used on Sasuke: the shoulder-vault and slide. Once he was in position, he used his legs to knock the girl to the ground. After pinning her to the ground, he smiled down at her.

"You are definitely a credit to your family, Hanabi-chan. I would say, well done. For your age, your Hakke field is quite large." The girl's eyes narrowed. Then she pushed him off of her.

"What the hell would you know about it?" Her tone was quiet and dangerous. From out of nowhere, Neji appeared. She simply glared at him, and he said nothing. Walking past him, she went into the house.

"Well, that was interesting." Kotetsu said. He looked over at Neji. "Your cousin has an attitude problem."

Holding his hands up defensively, Neji shook his head, then pointed at Hinata. "That's her job. I'm just a lowly ANBU captain." He kept his face straight, but they could all hear the amusement in his voice, especially when Hinata's brows drew down in frustration, which was a nearly alien expression on her. Naruto sat on the ground where he landed when the girl threw him off of her. He was shaking his head, looking up at the darkening sky. Suddenly, the hairs on the back of his neck began to stand up.

"Inside. Now. Everyone." No one questioned. They all ran into the house, and sealed the back door.

"What was that?" Neji was rubbing his arms to rid himself of goosebumps.

Naruto swallowed, his throat having gone bone dry. "I don't know. But whatever it is, Kyuubi doesn't like it." His hand absently stroked his abdomen, where the seal lay. Sasuke twitched. His neck was itching. Oh, hell. The itching began to build up slowly, then faster, becoming a burning sensation.

"Hmn." Sasuke groaned quietly, his hand automatically moving up to his neck. It suddenly felt as if someone were stabbing him with a red-hot knife. His breathing stopped, and he swayed. When he did catch a breath, he reached out for the wall to lean on, but missed. As he fell to the ground, he heard a gasp, but he didn't know if it was his or someone else's. Now lying on his back, his vision began to blur. Naruto's voice was like a dull buzz in the back of his head, asking if he was alright, and He was vaguely aware of Hinata kneeling at his side.

"Naruto-kun, we have to get help. He's going into shock." Hinata's voice was tight, and he could tell she was panicking. Her hands had started trembling when she pulled back the collar of Sasuke's dark shirt. The seal was turning red.

Naruto's eyes grew wide. It had been a very long time since he'd seen this happen. He wanted to go and get Shizune, or the Godaime, but leaving at this point, with whatever it was outside would not be smart. It was really stupid, actually. That meant that only one person was fit to do it. "I'll go, Hinata-chan." His voice hid the anxiety he felt, as well as the squirming angry ball of nerves that was the Kyuubi in the back of his mind. She glanced over at him.

"What's out there, Naruto-kun?" She asked, apparently unconvinced that he would be safe.

"I don't know, but I have a feeling it's something to do with Orochimaru." Why else would both Kyuubi and Sasuke's seal be acting up at the very same time? Not to mention the fact that Neji felt something too. That man seemed to have a sixth sense for trouble, no matter what form it took. So, Naruto trusted that. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. A hand seal later, Naruto's sleeping jutsu had sunk into his friend, easing his pain at least. He moved toward the door, but felt a hand on his arm.

Turning, he saw Hinata's anxious face. "Please be careful, Naruto."

"You know me, Hinata-chan. I'll be fine. I'm too stubborn to die, remember?" She smiled at that, which was what he was aiming for. "I'll be back soon with Shizune-san." Before walking to the door, he brushed a light kiss against her cheek. He wasn't even sure why he did it, but it felt right. That was a thought for another time. Right now, he had something he should be doing. Once he pulled his mask down, he headed out the door, calling behind him for Hinata to re-seal the door.

He made his way toward the hospital, and as he did, he kept seeing shadows in the corners of his eyes, and he couldn't shake them. When he turned his head to see them, though, they were gone. While he could not dismiss them as figments of his imagination, he also could not dwell on them. Sasuke's life could be in danger.

"Get me two cloths soaked in cold water, and a large bowl filled with ice water. We have to bring his fever down." Hinata looked to Moegi and Konohamaru. The two young genin had haunted looks in their eyes, and for a moment only stood there. "That's an order!" Hinata's voice rose to a near shout. That got their attention. Both genin rushed into the kitchen, retrieving the items she asked for. Trying to compose herself, she said, "Hold on, Sasuke. Hold on. Naruto and Shizune will be here soon. Just hold on."

The Uchiha was tossing and turning in his sleep. She had his head in her lap, and was using one of her legs to hold his torso still, wile Kotetsu held his legs. This was frightening. Hinata touched the seal. It was very hot, almost burning her fingers. That was where the fever began, like an infection that spreads from a wound. Momentarily, the genin brought in the towels and ice water. One of the towels she placed on his forehead, and the other she put ice in and placed it over the seal. There was a slight noise, almost a hiss, as the cool cloth touched it. Hinata bit her lower lip. This really wasn't working, and she knew it, but there wasn't much else she could do.

Sasuke gave a violent lurch, and nearly dislodged himself from Hinata's grip. Kotetsu planted a foot onto his stomach, stilling him. There was a knock at the door. It was soft, but insistent. That was certainly not Naruto. If it had been, he would be banging on the door and yelling for them to let him in. Kotetsu looked over at her, and she shook her head. The knocking persisted. Before he could move, she held up a hand. She signed at him, Let me. I'll be able to see through the door and any disguises. After the ANBU nodded, she walked quietly to the door, and activated her Byakagun. As she peered through the door, she was taken aback at what she saw.

Standing there, waiting to be let in, was Uchiha Itachi. "Go away, Itachi. We won't be letting you in."

"Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure." Hinata's voice was stony. She was not one to back down from this man, even though she knew he could snap her in half like a twig. It was simply not in her nature any longer. With the nearly 360 degree vision of her Byakagun, she saw Kotetsu's eyes widen, and a small smile spread over Neji's face. She was glad to make her cousin proud of her. Her new-found obstinacy faltered a moment later when Itachi continued to speak.

"Even if I can help him?"

Hinata's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that he's my brother. If anyone's going to kill him, it's going to be me. I explained that to Uzumaki already. The seal that Orochimaru put on him is killing him, slowly but surely. I can remove it." Itachi simply stared impassively at the smooth surface of the door. Hinata watched him for a moment, then turned to Kotetsu. He merely shrugged. She knew that if it were up to him, he would not let him in, and wait for Shizune and Naruto. But, as persistent as the man was, he may not want to let the others past to get to Sasuke. Then, Itachi said something that settled her decision. "If you don't let me help him, he will die, no matter what you do." Hinata broke the seal on the door and slid it open.

She could hardly believe what she was doing. Hinata stepped aside, allowing him in the door. No one breathed as he walked swiftly across the room. He crooked a finger at Kotetsu. When the dark-haired ANBU approached him warily, he said, "Keep everyone at least six meters away." The other man nodded, and herded everyone into the far corner of the room, standing in front of them with Shino, Neji, Tenten, and Kiba.

Itachi gripped Sasuke's shoulders and rolled him over onto his stomach. Hinata watched as he pulled a kunai from his coat. The blade sliced through the fabric of Sasuke's shirt, leaving the flesh around the seal exposed. The elder Uchiha's eyes closed. He seemed to meditate for a moment, then put a hand to the seal, and shook his head. One more deep breath, and he opened his eyes. They were black. He had released the Sharingan. It was then that Hinata became aware of how much chakra this was going to take. He may drain himself. She knew from speaking with Kakashi that Itachi was nearly blind without the Sharingan, because of his use of the Mangekyo Sharingan.

Perhaps that was why he felt for the seal. Hinata could feel him gathering his chakra from eighteen feet away. He would burn himself out, surely. No one could have that much chakra to use. This would even be pushing Naruto's limits. Then, his hands flew and blurred through a series of nearly twenty seals, his eyes fluttering shut. When his hands parted, there was a glowing ball of pure blue chakra between them. He pushed this ball into the seal, and it sank into Sasuke's skin, causing it glow slightly. Hinata gasped as she watched black chakra seep out from where the seal was. It dissipated in the air, like steam. It seemed to be coming from all parts of Sasuke's body. She could see it flowing though all of his chakra pathways, always toward the seal, almost as if Itachi's jutsu was sucking a poison out of his brother's system.

Finally, as the last of the blackness left him, the only proof that the seal had ever been there was that there were burns left in the same pattern. Itachi stood. He walked over to where Hinata stood, and smiled slightly. "He needs rest. And food. Wake him up as soon as possible." Then, he simply walked out of the door. Closing it behind himself. Hinata blinked. Kotetsu rushed to the door and re-sealed it.

Suddenly, Hinata felt sick. She had let an S-class felon into Sasuke's house. However guilty she felt, she did as Itachi said. From her pouch, she drew a small vial of smelling salts. After letting it rest near his nose, he woke up, sputtering at the smell.

"What the hell just happened?" His hand shot to where his seal used to be. Sasuke's eyes widened. "It…it's gone. Did you—"

Hinata lowered her eyes. Shame filled her as she said, "It wasn't me. It was…it was your brother." Sasuke blinked. When Hinata looked up at him, there was a look of disbelief on his face, but there was also the tiniest of smiles. "We're supposed to make you eat something." The young man nodded, pulling himself to his feet.

Shizune waited outside of the Uchiha main house with Naruto, who banged on the door repeatedly. After nearly five minutes, and Naruto yelling his head off, Neji came and let them in. The stoic ANBU captain smiled a little at them. "Come in, I'm sure you'll need to check on the invalid." She wondered at the man's composure. Surely, he would have more concern for someone in such a serious condition? After being ushered into the house, Shizune followed Neji into the kitchen, where she found Sasuke sitting at the kitchen table, devouring a bowl of instant noodles. "What in the world is—" She started, but then saw his shirt ripped open, and simply stared. It was gone. The curse seal was gone, and there was nothing left but a pink burn scar.

Just then, Naruto came in behind her and peeked around her shoulder. "Sasuke-teme! Were you faking, or what?"

A slightly amused and very Uchiha-like smile slid over Sasuke's lips. "Dobe. I'm fine. Look." His finger pointed to his neck. If it were possible, Naruto's jaw would have hit the floor. However, since human bodies can't do that, he only stared openmouthed. Shizune held up a hand for silence, and gave Sasuke the 'you-better-damned-well-explain-this-right-now-or-I'll-punch-your-face-in' look that only Naruto had really gotten before. However, before he could say anything, Hinata came forward, and pushed his face toward his noodles.

"Eat, Sasuke-kun." When he had returned to his food, the Hyuuga faced Shizune. "I am to blame. Uchiha Itachi was here, and I let him in. He removed the seal, and left." Shizune coughed. Was it possible? Had Sasuke's brother saved him? Why? She supposed that those were questions for another time. Shizune listened to the explanation of what happened, and nodded.

The medic-nin shook her head. "You are not to blame, Hinata. Itachi did this out of a genuine desire to help his brother, even if it was so that he could kill him later. For that, we must be grateful." Hinata's eyes seemed happier, but the rest of her face was still full of anxiety. There was a long moment of silence in the kitchen broken only by Sasuke's slurping of his noodles.

"Oi! Hinata-chan, cheer up! Sasuke no baka is ok now! We don't have to worry about him collapsing or turning into a psycho anymore. This is cause for celebration, ne?" Naruto's loud and exuberant voice filled the kitchen, and as usual, had the desired effect of lightening everyone's mood. Shizune smacked him on the side of the head, and his ANBU mask went flying. Hinata caught it and handed it back to him. "Arigato, Hinata-chan." He turned to his best friend. "What do you think, Sasuke? Should we have a little celebration now that you're seal-free?"

When Sasuke finished slurping down the juice from his ramen, he turned to Naruto. "You sure you want to party? Isn't whatever it was still out there?"

"Of course it is. But we'll take one thing at a time." That's what Shizune loved about Naruto. He might seem like a complete moron most of the time, but every so often, he had a good point to make. He rubbed his hands together. "So, how should we commemorate this joyous occasion?"

For the first time since he answered the door, Neji spoke. "Sake, anyone?" This surprised Shizune, as she had never seen him drink a drop of anything stronger than green tea. He pulled out a large bottle of sake from a cabinet at the back of the kitchen, and looked to Sasuke. The master of the house nodded, and smiled. They all returned to the living room, and sat in a circle in the middle of the floor. Hinata prepared tea for the younger genin, and retrieved cups for the older shinobi to have a special toast.

It felt strange. His body, though he had not used the seal for some time, had not felt clean or healthy for the last few years. After Hinata poured the sake for all of the adults, they each took a cup. Tea and sake were raised, and they all looked to Sasuke. After taking a deep breath of consideration, he said, "To being clean and whole, and to my brother. May he find peace." There was some hesitation at that last, but only for an instant. Then, everyone drained their cups, and set them down. Sasuke collected the sake and cups, then helped Hinata prepare tea for everyone who didn't already have some.

While they were in the kitchen, Hinata was avoiding his eyes. He put a hand on her arm. "Hinata, it's all right. You did what needed to be done. I wanted to thank you." She looked up at him, and smiled faintly. He gave her hand a squeeze, and a mischievous smile emerged on his face. "Now, if you can straighten Naruto out, we'll all be fine." Her face turned so red, he could not help but laugh. "Hinata, now what's that look? You can't fool me. I'm quite observant, you know."

"Sasuke-kun, I have no idea what you're talking about." Her face had gone blank, except for the barest hint of a curving of her lips. She was trying not to smile. He felt a certain kinship to her, but he supposed that it was only natural. They were, in a way, distant cousins. But it wasn't that. She had become something more than she had been, just as he was. Where she used to be so very timid, she was now much braver. He was, not that long ago, a cold and heartless bastard. Now, as he reflected on his life for a small moment, he realized that he was probably still a bastard, but not quite so cold.

"Hey, Hinata?"

"What, Sasuke-kun?"

Before she could fully turn to look at him from putting the tea to steep, he grabbed her and pulled her into a tight headlock, then gave her a rather large noogie. When he let her go, she frowned while trying to put her hair back the way it had been. "You know the only reason why I didn't hit you just now is because you're recovering from your seal, right?" He nodded gravely. "Good. As long as we understand one another. For a moment there, I thought you were channeling Kiba."

Once they sat down with everyone to have tea, Sasuke kept making subtle glances over at Naruto. The blond shinobi was watching him, as well, trying to figure out for himself if it really was true, in spite of his happy exterior. Sasuke used his best uncaring expression to ward off any questions. Soon, he was leaning back on his elbows, quite relaxed. Instead of questions, he got a pillow in the face. Once he'd removed the fluffy missile from where it had landed, he looked around for the guilty party. No one betrayed any kind of sign that they'd thrown it.

Then, off to the side, he saw Sonora. It was hard to see behind her Aburame coat, but she wore a very slight smile. Then, he saw Shino look over at her. That did it. He jumped at her, and used the pillow to break his fall as he landed right in her lap. "Now, Sonora-chan, that wasn't very nice." He smiled evilly. "How long have you been hiding your prankster tendencies?"

"She never really hides them, Sasuke." Shino's voice was deep and amused. "Just hides herself. That way, no one really knows what's going on, and it's that much funnier when she watches them."

"Pretty clever. But not clever enough." He used the pillow to bash her on the side of her head, albeit rather gently, since he used a pillow. Then, the living room suddenly erupted in a massive pillow-fight, with the genin being the most vicious of the attackers. However, Sasuke, Hanabi, Konohamaru, Moegi, and Sonora soon found themselves surrounded. "Konohamaru, I could really use that jutsu of yours right about now." Sasuke said in mock trepidation.

"Feh. Like I'd teach it to you right now. Kotetsu's about to clobber me!" The boy ducked, and rolled away as said ANBU member's pillow hit the person standing next to where he was instead of him. This sent Sonora flying into her cousin, and Shino caught her easily. Konohamaru's pillow bashed Naruto's backside, knocking him off balance, and sending him sprawling onto the floor, but not before he took Hinata down with him.

The fighting stopped for an instant and they took that brief time to see Naruto turn ten shades of red. The fighting resumed soon after, with renewed vigor, everyone ignoring the two people on the floor who were both too mortified at the position they'd fallen in to move. Naruto had, in an attempt to stay upright, grabbed at the person nearest him, and fallen onto his back. What he had actually taken hold of was the sleeve of Hinata's jacket. She had turned, mid-fall, to ensure that she didn't fall badly, but in the process had ended up in a very awkward position: sprawled over Naruto with her jacked halfway unzipped, exposing a lot of mesh shirt and much of what was under it.

Naruto quickly sat up, and shielded Hinata as she zipped her jacket. Surprisingly, she had only blushed a little. All this, Sasuke saw between ducking and dodging pillows swung by Shizune and Kiba, then hitting Neji and running so that he thought Shizune had done it, which got the woman off of him. Her accuracy was deadly.

Orochimaru would not be pleased. The brother had taken away the seal. It seemed that both of the Uchiha were going to have to die, now. The dark figure that stood near a lighted window smiled. It didn't matter how many he had to kill. So long as his master was happy, that's all that he cared about. At the moment, he had to find a way to kill them. It would be difficult to get the younger Uchiha alone, with all of the people who now surrounded him. But, he was still recovering from what the elder had done. The boy would not be up to full strength for at least another day. He had time. The elder of the two presented a larger problem. He had those eyes…

A/N: Pillow-fights are good shinobi training, ne? I just had to do it. Sonora is actually a pretty interesting character, here in my head. I just needed to bring her out. I'm hoping to have more of her in the next few chapters. She'll be testing for chuunin, as well. Oh, and if you thinkShino's got creepy bug tricks, wait until you see hers. (shivers...damned bugs).